“President Trump earlier this week asked for a show of hands from hundreds of wealthy donors in Chicago if they supported letting former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) out of prison,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The informal poll over clemency for the disgraced former politician found that most people in the room were sympathetic… A trio of Republican congressmen at the back of the room was firmly opposed.”
Joe Biden was interviewed by Norah O’Donnell on 60 Minutes:
O’DONNELL: President Trump has said publicly, ‘Joe Biden and his son are stone cold corrupt.’ And chances are, he’s watching this interview. Anything … you want to say to him?
BIDEN: Yeah. Mr. President, release your tax returns. Let’s see how straight you are, okay old buddy? I put out 21 years of mine. So show us your tax returns, bud, what are you hidin’? You want to deal with corruption? Start to act like it. Release your tax returns or shut up.
Calling out President Trump by name, former Vice President Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign introduced a plan on Monday to “strengthen our laws to ensure that no future president can ever again abuse the office for personal gain,” Axios reports.
“The ambitious plan, which comes as the Trump campaign continues to promote unsubstantiated corruption allegations against Biden himself, would seek to end the influence of money in politics and curb conflicts of interest.”
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA’ old MSNBC that President Trump “reeks of corruption” and “sounds like a criminal.”
Said Harris: “I was a prosecutor, and in a court I would be arguing that this is evidence of consciousness of guilt. The guy is scared because he knows he is going to be defeated in this election.”
A former top Ukrainian prosecutor told the Washington Post that he believed that Hunter Biden did not run afoul of any laws in Ukraine.
New York Times: “The two back-to-back addresses laid out the competing versions of populism that could come to define the presidential campaign. From the right, there is the strain Mr. Trump brought to maturity in 2016, combining the longstanding grievances of the white working class with a newer, darker angst about immigration and cultural change. And on the left, there is a vastly different populist wave still gaining strength, defined in economic terms by Ms. Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, and Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont.”
“The messages underlined the possibility that the 2020 election could be the first in a generation to be fought without an ally of either party’s centrist establishment on the ballot. While it is by no means certain that Ms. Warren will emerge as the Democratic nominee, two of her party’s top three candidates — Ms. Warren and Mr. Sanders — are trumpeting themes of economic inequality and promises of sweeping political and social reform.”
For members: Populist Anger Hasn’t Gone Away
Politico: “Air Force officers who have earned medals for their tours of combat theaters can pick up some more brass with a short pitstop in Southwest Scotland. As part of its relationship with the Air Force, President Donald Trump’s Turnberry resort occasionally gifts high-ranking officers a version of its ‘Pride Pin,’ a lapel pin featuring the property’s iconic lighthouse — an honor reserved for VIPs — upon their arrival, according a resort staffer familiar with the practice. Rank-and-file members can expect a more basic welcome package in their rooms, featuring goodies like Scottish shortbread.”
“A five-day visit to Turnberry and the surrounding region revealed that the regular visits from Air Force crews on layovers from Prestwick Airport have become a major facet of the life of the resort. It also revealed that, rather than being restricted to single-night refueling stops, some visits last multiple nights, expanding the known dimensions of the relationship between the president’s luxury resort and the U.S. military.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is adding some new proposals to her anti-corruption plan, this time with one particularly provocative target: President Trump’s sister, the Daily Beast reports.
In a Medium post, Warren proposes closing the loophole that “allows federal judges to escape investigations for misconduct by stepping down from their post.”
It’s a reference to a case involving Trump’s sister Maryanne Trump-Barry, whose retirement brought an abrupt end to an investigation into her role in various tax schemes of the family and potential fraud therein.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren released a new plan to tackle corruption in Washington, part of her ongoing promises to enact “big structural change” if elected, the Washington Post reports.
“Warren’s wide-ranging new proposal seeks to dramatically limit the influence of federal lawmakers and lobbyists while also expanding protections for workers. Under the plan, lobbyists would be banned from all campaign fundraising activities — including serving as campaign bundlers — and campaigns themselves would not be able to receive ‘intangible benefits’ such as opposition research from foreign governments.”
“Under a new definition of ‘official act,’ politicians would not be able to accept gifts or payments in exchange for government action. Senior government officials and members of Congress would be prohibited from serving on for-profit boards, even if they receive no compensation.”
“A former top administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency was arrested on Tuesday in a major federal corruption investigation that found that the official took bribes from the president of a company that secured $1.8 billion in federal contracts to repair Puerto Rico’s shredded electrical grid after Hurricane Maria,” the New York Times reports.
Jennifer Rubin: “The House should seriously consider shifting the focus from the Mueller report and Trump’s attempts to short circuit the Russia investigation to the overarching issue of this presidency: His unparalleled corruption. The Mueller report will come into play, but as an example of a particular form of corruption. This is easy to understand and undermines the entire premise of Trump’s outsider campaign by focusing on how he uses the presidency to enrich himself and serve his personal needs.”
“The enrichment schemes multiply and become more nauseating by the day.”
Jonathan Chait: “Donald Trump came to the presidency a complete novice to government and often found his corrupt, authoritarian impulses frustrated by its bureaucracy. But he is slowly learning how to control the machine that has stymied him. This is the story of 2019, as Trump has replaced institutionalists attempting to curtail his grossest instincts with loyalists happy to indulge them. It is playing out across multiple dimensions. This is the through-line between several seemingly disconnected episodes from the last several days.”
Former Rep. Aaron Schock (R-IL) “will walk away from a public corruption case with no conviction, a federal judge ruled Wednesday at a hearing lasting just a few minutes,” the Chicago Sun Times reports.
“A 2016 indictment accused Schock of improperly using campaign and government funds for cars, mileage reimbursements, interior decorating, a charter plane flight to a Bears game and sports tickets he resold for profit.”
“Schock struck a deal with prosecutors in March, which put his case on hold for six months during which he was required to meet certain conditions and remain under court supervision.”
“President Trump was on the cusp of commuting former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s (D) sentence late last week, multiple sources said. But then Republican members of Illinois’ congressional delegation began flooding the White House with calls,” CNN reports.
“Now, Trump appears to have backed off his plans to commute Blagojevich’s sentence.”
Rep. Duncan Hunter’s trial on charges that he improperly spent hundreds of thousands in campaign funds on lavish vacations, golf outings and entertainment has been moved to Jan. 14, Roll Call reports.
“President Trump said on Wednesday night that he was ‘strongly considering’ commuting the 14-year prison sentence of Rod Blagojevich, the former Illinois governor who was convicted of trying to essentially sell President Barack Obama’s vacated Senate seat for personal gain,” the New York Times reports.
“In remarks aboard Air Force One, Mr. Trump described the incriminating phone call in which Mr. Blagojevich, a Democrat, was taped discussing selling the seat as mostly a minor offense and something ‘many’ politicians have done.”
“Seven Democratic presidential candidates, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Mayor Pete Buttigieg, have promised that their first legislation as president would be an ambitious clean-government bill, earning their campaigns an influential reform group’s stamp of approval,” the New York Times reports.
“End Citizens United, a grass-roots advocacy group that played a key role in the 2018 midterm elections, said the seven candidates had vowed to prioritize ethics and campaign finance reform in a commitment the group is calling the “Reform First” pledge. The group said it would begin raising money for all seven candidates online and highlight their campaign activities on social media.”
“In addition to Ms. Warren and Mr. Buttigieg, the list of supportive Democrats includes three senators — Amy Klobuchar, Kirsten Gillibrand and Michael Bennet — as well as former Rep. Beto O’Rourke and Gov. Steve Bullock.”
“The Rev. Jesse Jackson and his oldest son, former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-IL), have urged President Trump to pardon Rod Blagojevich, the former Illinois governor whose arrest on charges of trying to sell a Senate seat ensnared the younger Mr. Jackson,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“When Barack Obama was elected president in 2008, Mr. Jackson Jr. was among those considered to fill his Senate seat… Federal investigators turned their attention to Mr. Jackson Jr. after the Blagojevich trial, and in 2013 he pleaded guilty to one count of felony fraud for converting campaign funds to personal use.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
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